Where else in the world can a person move into a new house and not even have a working phone line (not even to call the phone company) for 2 weeks? Cambodia? Uzbekistan? I don't know about those places, but here in the UK we're passing the 2 week mark without a phone. Amazing- in the US we didn't even have a phone because we didn't need one. But now we need one for internet. I'm considering calling the local radio station which does that sort of "Channel 4 on your side" sort of thing where they hassle the big company to get you what you need. I did just check today, and nope, no phone service. :)
Our head gasket repair kit finally came in- but it was delayed by the Royal Mail strike which is going on right now. Why are they striking? No one knows. But it's definitely affecting the mail. :) Also it was delayed by the customs office, who says anything valuing over 32 pounds (that's $64) has to be taxed. Tomorrow is the big head gasket repair day.
Today we went to this cool place called Emaus House. It's a place that has a resale shop (it reminds me of Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor) where people bring stuff and donate it, and they have a community of formerly homeless people who live there and they teach them carpentry and stuff like that. It's pretty cool. They had this awesome 3 panel wardrobe which we so planned on buying, but when we got home we realized that it wouldn't fit in our bedroom due to the low ceilings on 2 sides. Alas. We don't have a dresser, or a closet. So things are tricky. But there is this weird sort of toy storage cabinet that was built in to the wall which we're using for our clothes. Everytime I take out a shirt or pants I wonder if there will be a gigantic spider in them! We have a lot of...creatures living around our cottage. In the garden. On the windowsills. Near the ceilings. In the bed- oops, did I forget to mention the morning that I woke up and sat up to get out of bed and G was like "HOLY COW!!" and whacked near my leg, flinging the world's largest spider out of the bed (I'm talking it was between the covers, like it must have been right on me) and across the room? Hmm- well yeah, that happened a few days ago. Needless to say I'm a bit paranoid now. I like spiders generally, I rescue them and put them back outside just like I do all the other bugs we find inside. But in my bed is WAY over the line!
Today I planted some more plants in the garden. It's shaping up to be quite a nice garden, and I think it'll be nice and filled in in another month since I'm using Miracle Grow every week. They have this funny stuff here called Swell Gel which isn't like Miracle Grow, but is supposed to be similar. It's interesting. :) I'm enjoying playing with the snails in the garden- if I see one somewhere that needs to be moved (as in on a plant that I'm about to whack) I move it somewhere else. But first I let it inch around on my hand so I can look at it and be amazed at how interesting it is and how Father creates such strange and interesting creatures. Earlier today I had one inching around on my hand, and I could even see it's teeny little eyes on the ends of the stalks swinging around the air looking around. Too funny.
Nelly is still doing well- she's still climbing up the garden wall posts about 8 feet to climb out and around stuff. Yesterday she climbed up the Eucalyptus tree which lives in our back yard thing. She hasn't quite got the down part yet from the stone wall, so she hops onto our little shed roof and meows for a lift down. She's very cute. She has continued to lose weight and is now a suitable weight for her size. She is still sensitive about us leaving the house without her, and since she's learned to identify the sound of our car pulling up she runs down to greet us or sometimes sits in the front window waiting for us to get back. You know I bought a cat book at a charity shop this week and there are several breeds of cat that have traits like Nelly has- family oriented, talkative, not liking to be left alone, intelligent, affectionate....I thought Nelly was an oddball, but if you'd like a cat who will give you a little more love than most look for a breed that has those traits. Korat is apparently one of those breeds, and Nelly looks just like a Korat but she has long fur. Maybe she's a cross. :)
One last thing before I end this blog. Have you ever burned coal? In a fireplace? I bet my older friends from chrch in A2 could have told me this, but I just didn't think to ask....did you know that coal stinks when you burn it? Well, it does. It stinks like nasty burning oil, where the oil is coating the smoke molecules and floating around the house and into your nose. We thought it would be simple- we have a fireplace, someone told us the gas stations sold coal and wood for the fireplace, so we went and bought some coal. And some wood. We went home excited to use our fireplace for the first time, we started a fire, and we put the coal on there and boy does it stink! I have a really sensitive nose, and I can smell things from super far away, or someone's perfume if they walked by 10 minutes ago. So the coal was too much for me- we had to open all the windows to air things out before I could sleep. If any of you are considering burning coal- don't. Unless you can't smell anything. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment